Compact balloon system



Oct. 6, 1964 A. D. STRUBLE, JR 3,

COMPACT BALLOON SYSTEM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 2, 1965 64 l4 56 28 24 26 52 2O so 5/ 30a 36 38 34 l i 6| 42 '20 4| 6| o 39 72 l 2 m 0 a i F J I l Ll F166 u,

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Oct. 6, 1964 A. D. STRUBLE, JR 3,151,824

COMPACT BALLOON SYSTEM Filed Dec. 2, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' United States Patent 3,151,824 tlGE/EACT BALLGGN SYSTEM Arthur D. Struble, In, Falos Verdes, Cali. (1754 S. Crenshaw Blvd, Torrance, Calif.) Filed Dec. 2, 1963, Ser. No. 327,387 7 Claims. (Cl. 244-31) This invention generally relates to a novel balloon arrangement.

Balloon utilization is becoming more complex and more universal for a number of different applications in the space age. With the employment of balloons at very high altitudes and with very large payloads, costs for the balloon envelope have become a major cost factor. Launching problems have also become severe and require a great deal of ground equipment and large numbers of operation& personnel. Further, the employment of these very large, lightly loaded structures is very dependent upon low winds for satisfactory operations, both at launch and during the ascent phase. As a consequence of the reliability aspect, vehicle cost and operational clifficulties, it is highly desirable to have a balloon system which will:

(1) Keep the various portions of the balloon packagea until such time as each portion is actually employed in the inflated portion of the envelope;

(2) Keep the balloon slightly superpressured during the inflation, launch and ascent phases for bubble control and obviation of wind shear effects on the un-inflated sail portion;

(3) Achieve balloon recovery so that the expensive balloon envelope can be reused;

(4) Provide the above features without getting into auxiliary power systems and/ or complicated control functions.

The balloon arrangement of this invention is capable of achieving these desired operational and economic objectives.

With reference to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of a spool member and associated parts upon a launch platform;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the spool member with a balloon wound thereon;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view, partially in phantom, of a friction-clutch device useful in accordance with this invention;

FIGURE 4 is a side cut-away view of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a side view of a supporting arm useful in connection with this invention;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary side view of FIGURE 5 illustrating the latch means more fully;

FIGURES 6A and 6B are side views of two types of contoured cable reeling devices;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view showing a launching sequence; and

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view showing a descent sequence.

It is believed that a preliminary overall understanding of the purposes and objectives of this invention can perhaps be most quickly grasped by first briefly referring to FIGURES 7 and 8. FIGURE 7 shows a balloon at various intervals from the time of launch until the balloon has ascended to its designed operational altitude. F1"- URE 8 shows the balloon at various intervals of time during the course of its descent from its designed operational altitude until it reaches ground level.

Referring first to the FIGURE 7, interval A is the initial inflation phase and the balloon It) is shown being filled with gas through an inlet conduit 12 located near the top of the balloon. During this phase the major portion of the balloon is still uninflated and this uninflated portion is wrapped around the spool member 14. The balloon assembly is supported and maintained on the launch platform by means of releasable support arms 16 and 18. When the desired amount of lift has been imparted to the balloon by the introduction of gas, then the arms 16 and 13 can be caused to fall away and the entire balloon assembly will rise from the launch platform as is shown at phase B. During the time interval between phases B and C it will be seen that more of the balloon material has unfurled upwardly from the spool member 14 and also more cable 20 has been let down beneath the spool member 14 of the balloon fabric may be on the spool member at the time of launch). As the balloon continues to ascend from the position indicated by interval C, which is only shortly (eg. 5 minutes) after launch, and rises to the position indicated at phase D it will be noted that the balloon has unwound and enlarged into a more spherical shape and during this same time interval the cable 20 has been drawn upwardly to the maximum extent toward the spool member 14.

In FIGURE 8 it will be seen that as the balloon progresses through the descent phases D, E, F, and G the shape of the balloon changes from a generally spherical shape to a more or less oblong shape as the balloon fabric is reeled up by spool member 14. At the same time, during these phases of descent the cable 2% is seen to un wind until at the time it has reached phase G it is extended to all or nearly all of its full length. As the balloon descends from interval G to interval H and actually makes contact with the ground, the payload at the bottom of the cable 20 may be provided with only one of several @own means for anchoring the bottom of the cable to the ground. The balloon will then est in the position shown in at H and will be relatively safe while awaiting recovery.

Having generally observed the operational pattern of a balloon mrangement in accordance with this invention from viewing FIGURES 7 and 8, reference is now made to FIGURES 1-6 which show details of the construction which make this possible.

FIGURE 1 shows a spool member 14 comprising an axial section 22 and end sections 24 and 26. FIGURE 2 shows rather clearly how the lower end of a balloon, in its deflated condition may be wrapped around such a spool member. Although there is no figure specifically showing it, it will be understood that the bottom of lowermost end of the inflatable balloon should be connected to the spool member and preferably to the axial section 22 thereof. In fact, when the balloon is being transported from one location to another on the ground the entire balloon may be wrapped around spool member 14 and accordingly this factor will usually govern the maximum size of the spool member 14.

As is best shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, a main cable reeling device 28 is mounted integrally on the end section 24 of the spool member 14. Direct attachment of the main cable reeling device 28 to the exterior side of end section 24 will mean that the cable reeling device 28 will rotate whenever the spool member 14 rotates. The cable reeling device 23 in its simplest form simply consists, as is shown, of a series of concentric grooves or ridges within which a cable can ride and be guided dur-- ing winding and unwinding operations. Such a cable 20 is shown in FIGURES l and 2 and the upper end of this cable 2% is attached to the main cable reeling device 28.

The lower end of the cable 26 is attached to a payload 44- which may vary depending upon the size and construction of the balloon and its intended mission. The payload 44 may for instance include recording instruments,

transmitting devices, a housing for one or more occupants, or simply ballast.

FIGURES 1 and 2 show that the spool member 14 is preferably supported by and rotates around inwardly extending shafts 32 and 33 that are located on external framework 3t). Shafts 32 and 33 permit the spool member t freely rotate around a horizontal axis. With the external framework 3% constructed in this manner it is clear that it will not rotate when the spool member rotates and yet at the same time it does not interfere with the rotation of the spool member because the framework is exterior to the spool member. The external framework Etl has a lower section 3812 that is normally designed to remain beneath the spool member and preferably this lower portion 30a is provided with a central lower guide ring 34 whose function it is to center the cable 26, as will be described more fully hereinafter.

The lower portion 3tla of the external framework 3i also is preferably provided with one or more pulleys (such as 36 and 38) for guiding the cable 26 from its exit point on the main cable reeling device 28 through the ring 34. This arrangement insures that the payload will balance directly below the balloon.

The external framework 36 is also preferably provided with an upper portion Stlb which includes a large guide ring 49 which functions to guide the balloon as it is wound upon and is unwound from the spool member 14.

The cable 29 is preferably connected to a friction clutch device 42 that is shown as being mounted integrally on the payload 44. The primary function of this friction clutch device is to keep the length of cable (which may be 200-300 feet long) between the payload 44 and the main cable reeling device 28 as short as possible (short coupled) until shortly after the balloon has left the launch platform. The desirability of this is obvious for if excessive lengths or turns of cable are allowed to be present in and around the launch platform there is the danger that such excess lengths of cable can become tangled with the equipment on the launch platform and cause considerable dimculties. Also, it permits weighing of the entire balloon assembly prior to launch.

FIGURES 1 and 2 only show the friction clutch device 42 in a general manner but FIGURES 3 and 4 are more detailed views of one possible embodiment thereof. As can be seen in the embodiment of FIGURES 3 and 4 the clutch device 44 can merely comprise a housing 48 which surrounds a coiled length of the cable 29. Cable 29 enters the top of the housing 48 through a small opening and then passes in a tortuous path over a friction maze of spindles 5t 51, and 52. These friction spindles 5t 51, and 52 are preferably merely mounted in slots in side bars 54 and the spindles may be pushed into closer relationship with each other by turning the thumb locking screw 56 which in turn will exert a pressure against spindle 52 so that it will move leftward in its slot and this will in turn cause the other spindles to move leftward in their slots. (The spindles preferably do not rotate but may move sideways.) The end result will be that more pressure or friction is exerted against the cable 20 riding over and between these friction spindles and accordingly, the cable will either move out of the housing 48 with greater difficulty or will not move out at all.

The friction clutch or drag device 42 is preferably locked by a lanyard 41 and locking screw 56 until the very moment of launch. More specifically, the payload 44 is initially placed upon the pivoted chocks 39 when these chocks are in an upright position. As gas is introduced into the balloon the balloon will begin to unreel and as it does it will cause main cable reeling device 28 to rotate counterclockwise (viewed from FIGURE 2) and the cable 21 will be reeled upwardly upon the reeling device 23. Since the cable 29 is locked against movement over friction-spindles 59, 51 and 52 by means of locking screw 56 at the time the payload is initially put on the chocks 39, the net result will be that payload 44 will be lifted up off of chocks 39. Thus when checks 39 fall backwardly (or the payload moves vertically) the operator should loosen lock screw 56 slightly until the same cable has moved out of 42 and the payload 44 is again resting on the checks 39 and then the locking screw is again tightened. This sequential or periodic locking and unlocking process for incremental cable payout will be repeated many times before the balloon is actually ready for launching. The inflation process can thus be carried out with a balloon bubble under a continuous superpressure condition to accommodate Windy weather.

When it is finally decided that the balloon is ready to launch it is necessary to end the action of the locking screw 56 within a rather short interval after launch. This might be done in a number of Ways. For example the locking screw could be operatively associated with a timer device so that the locking screw would no longer perform a locking action 4 or 5 minutes after launch. If one desired he could actually manually inactivate the locking screw at the time of launch, and the friction spindles would then let Out cable but preferably at a slower rate than the balloon was climbing so that cable 20 would not touch rag on the ground. In any event, the desired mode of operation is to have the cable 25) within the housing 43 play out during the first few minutes of launch, but at a slower rate than the balloon is rising. In other words, shortly after launch the friction clutch 42 will gradually lower the payload 44 to the fully extended position indicated at C in FIGURE 7.

As an alternate to the friction clutch 42 one could couple the main cable reeling device to the spool member with a ratchet mechanism operable upon launch and keep the cable wound on the main cable reeling device during inflation. After launch, it would be racheted down to the full extended position to operate in the manner described previously.

The main cable reeling device 28 is designed so that its radius of action to any balloon unfurling position has a controlled mechanical relationship to the balloon effective spooled radius and the desired level of balloon superpressure. Relationship of these three factors plus system friction allows the balloon to maintain the desired level of superpressure; if desired, this may be designed to vary over the altitude operating spectrum. Thus, the balloon lift and superpressure loading balance the payload weight, assuming the friction to be negligible.

As the balloon ascends, expansion of the balloon lifting gas raises the superpressure level, overcoming friction and payload weight; the balloon envelope unspools to relieve the superpressure elevation and in the same motion is reeled upward. In this manner, the balloon ascends, constantly, until it reaches ceiling altitude and the payload gradually comes into a closely coupled position. Upon descent, slight reduction of the balloon superpressure, due to ambient pressure compression, allows the payload to drop, thereby rewinding the balloon onto the spool member in a continuous automatic manner under preset superpressure conditions.

The balloon system in accordance with this invention preferably has its spool member (and preferably the spool member and its associated framework) releasably connected to a supporting means which is capable of supporting said spool member (and associated framework) at a desired location above the launch platform until the balloon has acquired the desired amount of lift by virtue of the introduction of inflation gas. Specifically, with reference to FIGURES l, 2, 5 and 6 the preferred supporting means consists of two spaced apart arms 60 and 62,.

the upper portions of said arms being pointed as shown and supporting said spool member along a line approximately corresponding with its horizontal axis. In other Words, as shown in these figures the upper portions of arms 60 and 62 turn inwardly at 64 and 66 and seat in the pivot point cone indentations on the exterior side frame member 38. The lower portions of arms 69 and 62 are preferably releasably attached by means of a pivotal latch means 61 to a floating piston 71 mounted Within an annular cylinder 70. The lower end of each floating piston 71 is attached to a lift gage 72 which measures either the downward weight of the balloon and payload upon arms 6% and 62 or the upward lift upon such arms. In other words, lift gages 72 can indicate when sutficient gas has been introduced into the balloon to give an upward lift that will overcome the downward weight of the balloon and payload. More importantly gages 72 can be used to give an indication of the amount of excess lift or superpressure during the course of the inflation process.

It should be noted that the payload transfers from a short coupled position to the maximum extended condition shortly after launch. Then at altitude ceiling, with the balloon fully unreeled, the payload has again become short coupled. Further, it should be noted that at no time during the balloon flight is any uninflated balloon exhibited to the elements.

With the balloon arrangement of this invention, the various sections of the balloon (considered in vertical increments) may be made of different strength in order to provide a more eficient overall balloon structure. In other words, the launch envelope portion of the balloon can be constructed of relatively rugged balloon material so that it can withstand some abrasion and mistreatment without failure. The portions of the balloon that are only exposed at elevated altitudes may be constructed of weaker fabric since the stresses encountered at elevated altitudes are usually considerably less than those experienced at sea level. With the present system the lighter structural elements are protected on the reel until such time as they are displayed at the higher altitudes. With the present system the balloon system can be recovered in toto. Descent is initiated by valving a portion of the lifting gas and as descent proceeds, the superpressure level is reduced, thereby allowing the payload to drop in relationship to the balloon. In so doing, the uninflated portion of the balloon is rewound on its spool. It is envisioned that the payload would be fitted with a contact imbedment anchor which upon contact with the ground would geographically fix the entire installation. It is expected that length of the extended payload cable would be such that the balloon itself would remain above tree level so that it could be recovered intact.

In summary, the balloon arrangement shown in the drawings has a highly desirable operational sequence. It thus satisfies the desired objectives including a balloon envelope recovery technique requiring no additional power, a minimum manned launch operation, an operational sequence wherein no uninflated fabric is displayed to the elements, a controlled relationship of superpressure vs. altitude, a method for protection of lighter balloon fabric used at altitude wherein the balloon strength varies from top to bottom, a simple weigh-01f scheme, a simple balloon release mechanism, an anti-drag provision after landing, and an entirely portable installation.

The drawings show the main cable reeling device to be in the general shape of a truncated cone. This particular shape can be used but the particular shape and contour chosen will depend upon the ascent pattern desired for the balloon. In other words, the main cable reeling device is contoured so that its effective radius changes as the balloon unwinds from the spindle. The torque exerted by the cable and the payload attached to the main reeling device must be regulated in relation to the torque exerted by the superpressure in the balloon if a desired ascent pattern is to be attained, and it is preferred that this regulation (or balancing) be achieved by contouring of the main cable reeling device (exemplary shapes of contoured cable reeling devices, in side view, being shown in FIGURES 6A and 6B).

In conclusion, while there has been illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that since the various details of construction may obviously be varied considerably without really departing from the basic principles and teachings of this invention, I do not limit myself to the precise construc tions herein disclosed and the right is specifically reserved to encompass all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A balloon system comprising:

(a) an inflatable balloon having means for the introduction of inflatable gas,

(5) a spool member comprising an ax al section and two end sections,

(0) the lower end of said inflatable balloon being connected to said spool member,

(d) at least a major portion of said balloon being adapted to be wrapped around the axial section of said spool when said balloon is in a deflated condition,

(e) a main cable reeling device directly attached to one of the end sections of said spool member and which rotates whenever said spool member rotates,

(f) a cable having one end connected to said main cable reeling device,

(g) the other end of said cable being attached to a payload,

(h) said main cable reeling device being arranged to reel in cable and payload when the spool member rotates in a direction to unwind the balloon material that is Wrapped around the spool member,

(1') said main cable reeling device being arranged to reel out cable and payload when the spool member rotates in the opposite direction and Winds up balloon material onto said spool member,

(j) the weight of said payload being selected so that:

(1) when the balloon is ascending the rotational torque of the main cable reeling device resulting from the rotation of the spool member during the unfurling of the balloon fabric from the spool member is suflicient to draw the cable and attached payload toward said reeling device, and

(2) when the balloon is descending the rotational torque of the main cable reeling device is insuificient to keep the cable and attached payload from moving further away from said main reeling device.

2. A balloon system according to claim 1 wherein said payload is operatively associated with a friction clutch device that is attached to said cable in such a way that a variable degree of tautness can be maintained in the cable during its inflation and early ascent phases.

3. A balloon system according to claim 2 wherein said spool member is provided with an external framework that does not rotate when the spool member rotates and yet does not interfere with the rotation of said spool member, said external framework having a lower portion that is normally designed to remain beneath the spool member and limit the movement of the major portion of said cable to an up and down direction substantially centrally beneath said spool member.

4. A balloon system according to claim 3 wherein said external framework also has an upper portion including a guide ring through which the balloon moves as it winds upon and is unwound from said spool member.

5. A balloon system according to claim 1 wherein said spool member is releasably connected to a supporting means which is capable of supporting said spool member at a desired location on a launch area until the balloon has acquired the desired amount of lift from introduced inflation gas.

6. A balloon system according to claim 5 wherein said supporting means comprises two spaced apart arms, the

upper portions of said arms releasably supporting said that the ascent path and rate of ascent can be controlled spool member along a line approximately corresponding within desired limits. with its horizontal axis, and the lower portions of said arms being operatively associated with weighing means References Cited in the file of this patent that can indicate the amount of lift in the balloon as it is 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS being inflated at the launch site.

7. A balloon system according to claim 1 wherein said 3,063,657 Coaster 13, 1962 main cable reeling device is contoured in such a manner 3,110,457 stfuble 1 1963 

1. A BALLOON SYSTEM COMPRISING: (A) AN INFLATABLE BALLOON HAVING MEANS FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF INFLATABLE GAS, (B) A SPOOL MEMBER COMPRISING AN AXIAL SECTION AND TWO END SECTIONS, (C) THE LOWER END OF SAID INFLATABLE BALLOON BEING CONNECTED TO SAID SPOOL MEMBER, (D) AT LEAST A MAJOR PORTION OF SAID BALLOON BEING ADAPTED TO BE WRAPPED AROUND THE AXIAL SECTION OF SAID SPOOL WHEN SAID BALLOON IS IN A DEFLATED CONDITION, (E) A MAIN CABLE REELING DEVICE DIRECTLY ATTACHED TO ONE OF THE END SECTIONS OF SAID SPOOL MEMBER AND WHICH ROTATES WHENEVER SAID SPOOL MEMBER ROTATES, (F) A CABLE HAVING ONE END CONNECTED TO SAID MAIN CABLE REELING DEVICE, (G) THE OTHER END OF SAID CABLE BEING ATTACHED TO A PAYLOAD, 